Into the Deep..#RDP #flashfiction

“Onward,” Filliburt commanded. “We’ll find their hideout soon enough!” Deeper into the cave they went.

“Hark!” Rexi called, then turned to Filliburt.

“I believe I hear the gentle cry of a banshee,” he whispered.

“Banshees don’t gently cry, that they don’t!” Patterson scolded in his English brogue.

“What do you know , Patterson! You’ve just never met a vulnerable banshee!”

“Cut!” Marson choked through a laugh. Where did these role-players come from? The studio must have been pretty desperate this time around. If he if he had to listen to one more argument about fictionary beings…he just might lose it.

*** Posted in response to the word of the day at http://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com

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Books You May Not Know of, but Ought to Try! A Magical Setting in Ga.

 

My next installment of “Books You May Not Know of….but Ought to Try” is Auraria by Tim Westover.

Blurb:

Water spirits, moon maidens, haunted pianos, headless revenants, and an invincible terrapin that lives under the mountains. None of these distract James Holtzclaw from his employer’s mission: to turn the fading gold-rush town of Auraria, GA, into a first-class resort and drown its fortunes below a man-made lake. But when Auraria’s peculiar people and problematic ghosts collide with his own rival ambitions, Holtzclaw must decide what he will save and what will be washed away. Taking its inspiration from a real Georgia ghost town, Auraria is steeped in the folklore of the Southern Appalachians, where the tensions of natural, supernatural and artificial are still alive.

To be honest, I don’t think this is a self-published novel.  It is very well-done, but I would not have heard of the author if it weren’t for Kindle’s book recommendations.  I truly am thankful for that program, as I love to read wide.  Looking further, I see that it is doing well on the charts, and it has 186 reviews averaging four stars.

This book took me outside of myself.  It is at once historical and fantastical.  You can imagine the main character in this situation 100 years ago, faced with the decision of turning a charming Southern town on its head or leaving them to live in their own idyllic ways.  Only, add magical singing beings, sheepfruit, (what IS that anyway?  I’d like to see it), and ghosts, and you have a joyride of a story based on a true Georgia ghost town.  Don’t expect to understand it all right away.  The author has created an alternate world in this town.  Personally, I’d love to visit!  Read this book for a quick, imaginative get away.

Adapting. #amwriting #FlashfictionforAspiringWriters

Photo credit, @yarnspinnerr.  Thanks for the image prompt!

“Adapting”, (c) 2017, Pamela Schloesser Canepa

Katarina Jenkins sat the plate down.  She had eaten the meat and left what looked like bones.  She was still unsure what kind of meat it was.

Still, any food was a plus right now.  The ship carrying her mother, father, and her had been smashed against the rocks.  She arrived alone at this island full of purple people, wary, fearful, and starved, her parents carried away on the waves.

These people were nice enough to offer her food.  Now, they stared with eager eyes, and one of them pushed the plate back toward her.  Am I supposed to eat the bones too?  Who are these people?  Where is home?

Another, painted with war stripes like a leader or hero, pushed the plate away gently.  Thank God.

Instead, he offered a seashell full of  purple moosh, pointing at it, then motioning to spread it on her face.

Gladly, Katarina accepted.

*150 words

Each week, a photo prompt is posted at Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers with a challenge to write a flash-fiction story within the parameters.  

For a variety of responses to this week’s photo prompt and/or the rules of the writing challenge, visit https://flashfictionforaspiringwriters.wordpress.com/2017/12/11/fffaw-challenge-week-of-december-12-2017/